The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (TRIH ep 667)
1503 · Resource
In this episode of The Rest Is History Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the enduring fascination with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Beginning with Walter Pater’s 1869 prose, they trace the painting’s technical challenges, its early copies, and the development of the sfumato technique. The hosts discuss the myriad theories about the sitter’s identity—from Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, to more exotic candidates such as Pacifica Brandano and even Leonardo himself—whi...
On these timelines: The Rest Is History (podcast), Resources: Combined
Around 1503
- Wars of the Roses (1455)
- The Reformation (1517)
- Spanish Reconquista last campaign (1482)
- Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519)
- Columbus reaches the Americas (1492)
- Spanish conquest of the Incas (1532)
- Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation (1519)
- English Reformation (1533)
- Fall of Constantinople (1453)
- Luther's 95 Theses (1517)